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This paper examines the relative influence of family stressors and the family’s socioeconomic circumstances on children’s happiness. Data from the 9 year old cohort of the national Growing Up in Ireland study (GUI) was used to examine these relationships. The sample consisted of 8,568 children and their families. The stressors considered were a conflictual parent–child relationship; children with emotional and social problems; parental depression; low parental self-efficacy and child isolation. A group of families and children who were experiencing a higher level of these stressors was identified. This constituted 16 % of the sample. Although socioeconomic disadvantage contributed significantly to the vulnerability of this group, it was by no means the sole or dominant issue. Using the Piers-Harris Happiness and Satisfaction Subscale, children’s self-assessed happiness in this identified group was found to be significantly lower than in the other groups, irrespective of socioeconomic and demographic variables. The family stressors were found to explain more than twice the variance in the children’s happiness than explained by the measures of socioeconomic status. Nonetheless, most of the variance remains unexplained. Future research directions to explore this are indicated.

The empirical evidence is rather weak and sometimes inconsistent as to what predicts an individual's decision to start a business. Among many possible causes, this study attempts to disentangle the effects of individual differences and context. I propose to use a framework involving an individual's entrepreneurial intent, entrepreneurial orientation and four individual difference factors as a means to isolate individual difference determinants of entrepreneurial intent. These are captured in new construct called entrepreneurial orientation. Samples of entrepreneurs and college students from the United States and China were used to test the relationships. The empirical results show that entrepreneurial orientation is positively related to individual differences factors and entrepreneurial intent. Even more, it fully or partially mediates the relationships between the individual differences and entrepreneurial intent. Among the four individual differences listed, opportunity recognition seems to be the best predictor of an individual's entrepreneurial orientation and entrepreneurial intent. Future research should further examine opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial orientation. It appears that attempting to isolate effects of individual differences from context can be a viable strategy for studying determinants of new venture creation. / Ph. D.

This research examines a possible relationship between intentional memory and possible phonologic cues in the human voice. Specifically, if someone has told us something in the past, does hearing that same voice at the time of recall affect our ability to remember what was said? Also, if voice cues do affect memory, is the effect voice-specific? Since most standardized assessments of student learning and tests of human memory rest their conclusions about human learning solely on non-aural tests, it is necessary to determine if student performance changes with test modality. Via a computer program, ninety-five adults each listened to a male voice read a one-minute story and were then randomly assigned to take one of three different tests consisting of multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank items. In the first test, the male voice from the story read all questions and possible answers. The second test used a different male voice to read while the third test was text-only. All tests contained identical content and gave single-modality cues only, text or speech. Results show no significant difference in long-term recall or recognition with respect to test-modality. Further research in this area is encouraged to determine if conclusions are generalizable to wider populations and hold for longer memory intervals. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of encoding specificity on learning in a multimedia environment. Based upon the theory of encoding specificity there should be a relationship between the modality for which a learner encodes information into memory and the modality used to assess the learner's knowledge. Modality attributes for purposes of this study included visual (animation) and verbal information (narration and text). Two-hundred and fifteen students viewed a computer animation on lighting formation which was presented in one of three different modalities (animation with narration, animation with text, text only). Following the instruction students were assessed in one of three modalities (animation with narration, animation with text, text only) on recall and transfer. A 3 Encoding/Study x 3 Retrieval/Test (animation with narration, animation with text, text only) full-factorial post-test only design was used to assess the effects of matched and mismatched encoding and retrieval modalities in a multimedia environment. Encoding specificity suggests that there is an interaction between the conditions at encoding and retrieval such to say that the to-be-remembered item will not be as effective during retrieval unless the cue was specifically encoded at time of storage. Unfortunately, the present study did not find much to support the claim of encoding specificity based upon modality. The use of modality in both encoding and retrieval condition to support encoding specificity was found only in the AT-AT matched recall group versus the mismatched groups. Furthermore, significance was not found in any of the matched mismatched transfer conditions. / Ph. D.

Touch is an expressive and powerful modality in affect conveyance. A simple touch like a hug can elicit strong feelings of affection both in the touch initiator and recipient. Therefore delivering touch over a distance to a long-distance family member or significant other has been an appealing concept for both researchers and designers. However compared to the development of audio, video channels which allow the transmission of voice, facial expression and gesture, digitally mediated touch (Remote Touch) has not received much attention. We believe that this is partially due to the lack of understanding of the capabilities and communication possibilities that remote touch brings. This dissertation presents a review of relevant psychological and sociological literature of touch and proposes a model of immediacy of the touch channel for affect conveyance. We advance three hypotheses regarding the possibility of remote touch in immediate affect conveyance: presence, fidelity and context. We posit that remote touch with relatively low touch fidelity can convey meaningful immediate affect when it is accompanied by a contextualizing channel. To test the hypothesis, two sets of remote touch devices are designed and prototyped which allow users to send/receive a squeeze on the upper arm to/from others effectively. Three in-lab user studies are conducted to investigate the role of remote touch in affect conveyance. These studies showed clearly that remote touch, when contextualized, can influence the affective component in communication. Our results demonstrated that remote touch can afford a rich spectrum of meanings and affects. Three major categories of the usage are identified as positive affect touch which serves to convey affects such as affection, sympathy and sharing, comfort etc., playful touch which serves to lighten the conversations, and conversational touch which serves to regulate the dynamics in the discourse. Our interview results also provide insights of how people use this new channel in their communication. / Ph. D.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of context-dependency of seductive details on recall and transfer in multimedia learning environments. Two experiments were conducted. In Experiment 1, the purpose was to identify context-dependent vs. context-independent seductive details in a lightning animation. Seductive details were considered as interesting yet irrelevant sentences in the narration of lightning animation. Sixty-seven undergraduate students participated in Experiment 1 and assigned interestingness scores to the 28 content irrelevant sentences. Participants were assigned to two different groups, context-dependent seductive details group (CDSD) and context-independent seductive details group (CISD). Participants in the CDSD group assigned interestingness scores after watching a lightning animation to be familiarized with the context of lightning formation. Participants in the CISD group watched a historical inquiry animation as a distraction task before assigning interestingness scores. The results of Experiment 1 revealed that 13 of 28 sentences in the lightning formation text were seductive details according to participants of the study. Ultimately, 6 of the 13 seductive details were determined to be context-dependent and 7 were determined to be seductive details were context-independent. The purpose of Experiment 2 was to investigate the effects of context-dependency of seductive details on recall and transfer in multimedia learning environments. Undergraduate students (n = 184) were randomly assigned into four groups. Participants in all groups watched a lightning animation, and performed a recall and a transfer task. The first group watched an animation that did not include any seductive details. The second group watched the animation with context-dependent seductive details only. The third group watched the animation with context-independent seductive details only. The last group watched the animation with both types of seductive details. A 2x2 ANOVA for both recall and transfer, and contrast analyses were conducted to determine the effects of context-dependency of seductive details on recall and transfer. The results indicated that there was no significant effect of context-dependency of seductive details on recall or transfer. The findings are discussed in the context of the related literature and directions for future research are suggested. / Ph. D.

The evaluation of risk is a fundamental aspect of decision-making and influences important outcomes, such as in the domain of financial and health behavior. In many economic applications, risk attitudes are assumed to be inherently stable. Nonetheless, behavioral tasks that elicit risk preferences have shown temporal inconsistencies. The instability of risk preferences can be attributed to several factors such as the way information is presented (framing effects), personal past experiences, and experienced emotions. We conduct four studies in this dissertation to shed light on the state dependency of risk attitudes and on the decision process of risky choice. Chapter 2 examines, using a laboratory experiment, how high stakes in risky choices influence physiological arousal, as measured via skin conductance, pulse rate and pupil size, and attention, as measured via gaze bias and saccades. We link the changes in arousal and attention accompanying high stakes to changes in risk aversion. Moreover, we develop and test a Sequential Sampling Model (SSM), the arousal-modulated Attentional Drift Diffusion Model (aADDM), linking reaction time and choice while allowing attention and its interaction with arousal to modulate the evaluation process of risky alternatives. High stakes caused changes in attention toward the safe option's attributes, heightened physiological arousal, and increased risk aversion. Results from the aADDM, demonstrate that the values of the high attributes are discounted when participants attend to the low attributes, with arousal amplifying this process further. Chapter 3, using a laboratory experiment, investigates how incentives and emotional experiences influence the adaptation process across high and low volatility contexts in risky choice. Due to the brain's computational capacity limitations, perception is optimized to detect differences within a narrow range of stimuli. We show that this adaptation process is itself context-dependent, with stronger incentives, heightened arousal, or more unpleasant feelings increasing payoff responsivity under high volatility. Chapter 4, using survey data, focuses on fear responses during the COVID-19 pandemic and risk perception of the health- and financial-related consequences of the crisis. We show that women report higher fear of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to men, modulating the gender differences in preventative health behaviors. Women also perceive the health risks of COVID-19, and not financial risks, to be greater than men. Chapter 5, using vignette experiments, demonstrates that betrayal aversion, or hesitancy regarding the risk of being betrayed in an environment involving trust, is an important preference construct in the decision to become vaccinated and is not accounted for by widely used vaccine hesitancy measures. We show that people are significantly less willing to get vaccinated when the associated risk involved the vaccine actively contributing to the cause of death. We also find that betrayal aversion is amplified with an active role of government or scientists. Moreover, we test an exogenous intervention that increases willingness to vaccinate without mitigating betrayal aversion. JEL codes: D81, D83, D87, D91, I12, J16 / Doctor of Philosophy / Many decisions involve varying levels of uncertainty and perceived reward like investing in a risky asset or getting a vaccination during a pandemic. These risky decisions, however, require consuming scarce brain resources. In addition, one's own feelings that are altered by the decision context itself or are naturally occurring during daily activities may influence risky decision-making. The scientific mission of this dissertation is to advance our understanding on how the decision context and experienced emotions influence not only risky decisions but also the way by which the decisions are being made. Our results show that real and high monetary rewards reduce financial risk-taking while altering attention and the perception of information. We also find that stronger incentives activate changes in the autonomous nervous system, such as a racing heart rate, increased sweating, or pupil dilation, and increase self-reports of emotional arousal. Importantly, we demonstrate, via computational modeling and experimental analysis, the role of emotional responses in modulating both attention and value perception of rewards in risky choice. In other words, we find that emotional experiences play an important role in adapting the process by which rewards are evaluated and perceived. Since significant life events, such as experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, can lead to substantial uncertainty and emotional distress, we collected survey data upon the crisis' onset to investigate the impact on different aspects of behavior including adherence to prevention measures and willingness to get vaccinated. We find that women, compared to men, reported higher fear of the COVID-19 pandemic and perceived greater negative health risks of the crisis. We attribute observed differences in adherence to prevention measures between men and women to gender differences in emotional responsivity to the pandemic. In addition, we demonstrate the importance of contextual factors, which drive feelings associated with the risk of betrayal, in the decision to become vaccinated. Taken together, the findings in this dissertation highlight the integral role of emotional experiences, which vary with incentives or because of previous experiences, in decision-making under risk.

This dissertation examines some of the more subjective aspects of individuals' experiences of isolation within the context of racialized and gendered work organizations. This research develops two constructs--institutional and social isolation--and attempts to ascertain the extent to which racial and gender groups experience isolation similarly. Other attitudes, such as intent to turnover, affective commitment, and alienation, are analyzed with respect to feelings of isolation for these groups. Finally, because current thinking has advocated the use of organizational interventions, such as mentoring programs, to ameliorate individuals' feelings of separateness within the organization, the relationship of mentoring to the aforementioned constructs was examined for its usefulness in understanding similarities and differences between these groups. This research extends previous work by providing support for new conceptualizations of social isolation and isolation. It extends work done by Nkomio and Cox (1990) and others who found that individuals who had achieved some objective measures of success in organizations, still did not feel, subjectively, as if they were a part of the organization. Thus, the use of these isolation constructs will expand our knowledge of organizational processes in examining groups based on gender and race/ethnicity. The results indicate that isolation docs exist on two dimensions: institutional isolation and social isolation. Asian-Americans have higher levels of institutional isolation, and African-Americans have higher levels of social isolation than any other group. Females experience higher levels of social isolation--but not institutional isolation--than males. There are some differences when race and gender are examined simultaneously in levels of experienced institutional and social isolation. Younger faculty feel more institutionally and socially isolated than older faculty. There is no significant effect of the presence of mentoring on institutional or social isolation; nor is there differential access to mentoring relationships by race. However, females enter mentoring relationships in greater proportions than males. There are also effects from cross-racial mentoring relationships. Finally, there are no significant differences, by race or gender, in the levels of affective organizational commitment or intent to turnover. / Ph. D.